Featured A Souvenir From the Colosseum?

I have always wanted one of these coins. 'No self-respecting Flavian collector should be without one', or so I told myself. It can be very difficult to find a specimen in good condition and fine style. Luckily, I did.



Domitian
Æ Quadrans, 3.32g
Rome Mint, 84-85 AD
RIC 251 (R). BMC - .
Obv: (No legend) Rhinoceros stg. l.
Rev: IMP DOMIT AVG GERM; S C in centre
Acquired from Marc Breitsprecher, February 2019.

A few years into Domitian's reign an extraordinary issue of quadrantes were struck featuring a rhinoceros on the obverse. Although the coins are undated, their production can be narrowed down between late 83 when he assumed the title Germanicus and 85 when the consular date XI appeared on the quadrantes. The type is highly unusual and breaks with the standard obverses that were normally featured on the quadrans. One may ask, why a rhinoceros? Certainly the animal was rare in Rome and most difficult to obtain. The rhinoceros depicted on the coin is the African species, identified by the two horns. Martial in his book 'On Spectacles' tells of such a rhinoceros in the Colosseum. Presumably, these coins were struck with that very 'star performer' in mind. Ted Buttrey wrote about this coin type in his article Domitian, the Rhinoceros, and the Date of Martial's "Liber De Spectaculis": "it is wrong to write off the rhinoceros of Domitian's coin casually, as if the coin were a picture postcard from the zoo: 'This is a rhinoceros'. No, coin types are pointed. Everything has to do with imperial advertisement and with its importance at the moment of issue: 'This is my rhinoceros'. Domitian's rhinoceros, in its supremacy in the arena might well stand as a metaphor for the invincible success of the emperor conquering general who had recently assumed the historically-weighted title of Germanicus." Coming back to Martial, he also speaks of tokens being showered upon the cheering crowds - could these quadrantes struck cheaply and in massive quantities have been gifts to the cheering mob at the arena? In essence, can this coin double as currency and a souvenir from a long ago day at the games in the Colosseum?

This variant of the famous rhinoceros quadrans is somewhat rare (no examples in the BM) because of the obverse legend beginning in the upper right, more commonly it begins in the lower left. Artistically, most of the rhinos depicted on these coins have a lot to be desired. Some look like wild boars with horns added for effect. Happily, the animal depicted on this coin's obverse indeed looks every part the powerful and fearsome beast which awestruck Roman audiences - as a matter of fact, it appears to be charging with its head down. Perhaps the engraver was a witness to the very games martial describes?

While the trembling trainers were goading the
rhinoceros and the great beast's anger was long a-gathering,
men were giving up hope of the combats
of promised warfare; but at length the fury we earlier
knew returned. For with his double horn he
tossed a heavy bear as a bull tosses dummies from
his head to the stars.

He lifted two steers with his
mobile neck, to him yielded the fierce buffalo and
the bison. A lion fleeing before him ran headlong
upon the spears. Go now, you crowd, complain of tedious delays! - Martial, On Spectacles

As mentioned above, the rhino depicted on the coin is the two-horned African species.



In contrast, the Indian rhino has one horn. Pliny in his Natural Histories describes the rhinoceros as a one horned creature (although confusingly he confirms its Ethiopian origins), Martial said it had two. The rhino was so rare in Rome, Pliny had to go all the way back to the games of Pompey the Great in 55 BC to find a reference for the animal on display in the city, apparently it was a one-horned Indian rhino. At any rate, both the numismatic evidence and Martial's description coincide rather nicely to confirm that Domitian, at great expense no doubt, brought to Rome an African rhinoceros for his shows in the new Colosseum. The surviving coins featuring this fantastic beast prove how important a feat this was to the emperor.

Feel free to post your zoologically minded coins!

 

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Nice!! I believe @medoraman has some of these.

That would be half of my collection . I'll just show a few.

Here's a rhino on a small denomination of Alexandrian bronze. This coin is rated R5 in Emmett (highest rarity) but I've seen a half dozen of them for sale in my short time as an ancient coin collector. Book rarities may not mean much in the collector's market, and of course new hoards can change everything in an instant.


EGYPT, Alexandria. Trajan
year 17, CE 113/4
dichalkon
Obv: Laureate head right
Rev: rhino standing left; LIZ above
Ref: Emmett 719 variant (rhino right), year 17

A hippo:


EGYPT, Alexandria. Tiberius
Year 5, CE 18/9
AE obol, 20 mm, 4.45 gm
Obv: bare head right
Rev: hippopotamus right; TIBEPIoY above; [L] E in exergue
Ref: Emmett 62.5, R1; Geissen 47; Dattari-Savio 102 (this coin); RPC 5082
ex Dattari collection (Giovanni Dattari, 1858-1923)

An ostrich:


THRACE, Hadrianopolis. Gordian III
AE 18 mm, 2.59 gm
Obv: AVT K M ANT ΓORΔIANOC AVΓ; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: AΔPIANOΠOΛEITΩN; ostrich running like stevex6 is chasing it with a basting brush
Ref: Varbanov 3833, rare
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-now-extinct-animal-on-a-roman-coin.287175/

 

Exciting essay. Thank you @David Atherton.

And, amazing coins to gaze upon as I have breakfast today! I imagined myself a spectator at the arena with a fierce rhinoceros being let in through a side gate. And then in the next battle this crazy looking bird came charging in! The spectators had to be going wild. Then imagine having souvenirs like David Atherton's coin (maybe) raining down upon you!

Too much excitement for me this morning!

 

Nice write-up @David Atherton , and really nice Quadrans!

Here is a few zoo...



RI Trajan Egypt AE Dichalkon Laureate hd L Rhinoceros walking L LI-Z yr 17 CE 113-114 12.9mm 1.25g Emmet 719 var. rhino right




Etruria
3rd C BCE
AE 18mm 4.76g
Hd African r
Elephant r letter below
SNG Cop48 HNI 69 SNG Paris 138-140 SNG Morcom 44
RARE



SELJUQ OF RUM Kaykhusraw II CE 1236-1245 AR dirham Siwas AH 639 A-1218 lion sunface star L



Lot 122. Arabia Petraea, Bostra. Trajan. A.D. 98-117. AR drachm. Struck A.D. 114-116. Ex Harlan J. Berk.
Arabia Petraea, Bostra. Trajan. A.D. 98-117. AR drachm (18.57 mm, 2.92 g, 8 h). Struck A.D. 114-116. AYTOKP KAIC NEP TPAIANω APICTω CЄB ΓЄPM ΔAK, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / ΔHMAPX EΞ UPATO ς, Camel walking left. SNG ANS 1158; SNG von Aulock 6408; Sydenham, Caesarea 205. VF. Ex Harlan J. Berk.

 

Great write up and even greater coin!I just won a Domitian quadrans last week myself:

Domitian AD 81-96. Rome
Quadrans Æ

14mm., 1,34g.

 

Makes you wonder HOW they got these animals to Rome from around the world. I mean think of it, they had no tranquilizers and it could take weeks to get to Rome. A rhino is huge! I'm simply in awe of these guys.

 

Very nice coin and article. Talking about the Colosseum, during his inauguration , over 9000 animals were killed. But there is one kind of wild animal that was never displayed or harmed in the venationes. Can you find which one it is ?

 

That's a cool coin, @David Atherton , and it has long been on my "I'd like to get one" list, but I didn't know about the purpose of the issue or its backstory. Thanks for such an interesting write-up!

When talking of zoologically-minded coins, Gallienus' issues of AD 267-268 come to mind. They are, as you know, called the zoo series. The animals depicted, however, are those associated with the various pagan deities in the Roman pantheon, depicted along with a plea in the reverse inscription for the god to "conserve the emperor": (fill in the blank) CONS AVG. Many of the animals are mythological, such as centaurs, griffins, winged horses, and creocamps. However, a great many depict real ones, such as the hooved beasts (stags and gazelles and such) associated with Diana, the goat associated with Jupiter, the lions and boars associated with Hercules, and the big cats associated with Liber Pater.

I have too many Gallienus zoo coins to post here, so I'm going to show only the big cats of Liber Pater, the panther and the tiger. So as not to hijack this thread, I will post a separate thread about what an ancient person considered a panther to be.

Panther:


Tiger:

 

Thanks @TIF . Love talking about rhinos. Quick rehash of the pitifully low population of rhinos on ancient coins, 2. 2 main coins types is all that I know ever appeared on ancient coins. One is the Domitian quadrans. There are 4 subtypes, two with rhino facing left, two right. Both have legend variations. Some say rhino left is scarcer, but I have seem pretty equal amounts of both. Second type is the Trajan dichalkon. Also known both left or right, though I suspect right is a little scarcer. Be careful with these, as they also come with a hippo instead of a rhino, and some sellers list is as a rhino. Make sure you see the horn clearly.

@Alegandron, the Trajan Bostra issue is one of my favorite coins. I think I own about 6 now. Bonus Question: What is odd about this coin? Second Bonus Question: Once you figure out what is odd, what do you think it is signifying?

Btw, here is one of my Bostra issues:

 

I gathered a lot of info researching this coin, but had to do some judicious pruning for fear of a meandering post. Pliny discusses a method employed to capture elephants destined for the arena. The animals were herded into a pit and left there with no food and water until they became weak enough for easy transport. I imagine a similar trap was set for rhinos.

 

Interesting coin and write-up, David. I have a crusty MVNIFICENTA as of Antoninus Pius that was issued for the 700th anniversary of the founding of Rome. The elephant referred to the games in the Colosseum, some believe. I really like the possibility that such issues were tossed out at the games as a kind of token/coinage freebie:



Antoninus Pius Æ As
(c. 147-149 A.D.)
Rome Mint
ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XII Laureate head right / MVNIFICENTA AVG Elephant standing right, COS IIII S C in exergue.
(700th anniversary of Rome)
RIC 862a; RCV 4308.
(9.62 grams / 25 mm)

 

The mosaic from Tiles, Sicily depicting the gathering of animals...

 

I'm going to guess it's the Nile Crocodile .

 

1) Sinister (Left) facting Trajan
2) Means - lets go to WAR!

 

...kool...fascinating animal coins! i don't have a rhino (yet)^^

 

o, that coin is the cats(ostrich) meow! love it!

 

very nice!..hope to own one someday

 

Here's a Titus denarius from 80 AD. It is a somewhat common coin but very popular due to the opening of the Colosseum reference.



Ruler: Titus (Augustus)
Coin: VF Silver Denarius
IMP TITVS CAESAR VESPASIAN AVG PM - Laureate head right
TRP IX IMP XV COS VIII PP - Elephant walking left.
Mint: Rome (January-June 80AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 2.90g / 18mm / 180
References:
RCV 2512
RIC 115, (RIC [1962] 22a
RSC 303
BMC 43
Cohen 303
Provenances:
Incitatus Coins

 

Great post David. Here's some more information I found online.
From Wikipedia: The building was remodelled further under Vespasian's younger son, the newly designated Emperor Domitian, who constructed the hypogeum, a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves. He also added a gallery to the top of the Colosseum to increase its seating capacity.

And from Britannica: The structure was officially dedicated in 80 CE by Titus in a ceremony that included 100 days of games. Later, in 82 CE, Domitian completed the work by adding the uppermost story.

 

Another fruitful period for animal types would be that of Philip I, who celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Rome with his Secular Games in 247 – 8.